Late tax return deadline reminder

21 Apr 17

Taxpayers are being reminded they have until the 30 April 2017 to submit their 2015/16 self-assessment tax return or risk facing further fines.

Those who missed the 31 January deadline and have yet to submit their online return have until the end of the month to file their return of face additional fines of £10 a day - which could rise up to £900.

According to the ICAEW, 870,000 people missed the online tax return deadline in January 2016, resulting in HMRC earning immediate fines of £87 million.

You need your login information and up-to-date records to complete your self-assessment if you haven’t done so already.

Access your online account through HMRC to submit your return and pay any tax due for the previous tax year.

Sarah Ghaffari, technical tax manager at ICAEW, said:

“If you haven’t submitted your 2015/16 return yet, you should send it online – if you send in a paper return at this stage, the penalties will be even higher as the deadline for paper returns was 31 October 2016.

“If you have a ‘reasonable excuse’ for filing your tax return late you shouldn’t face penalties but you will need to provide evidence of the circumstances that delayed your return, which must have applied since January 2017.

“Excuses like being away on business or a dog eating your return won’t be accepted, but if you were suffering from a serious illness you’ll just need to file your return as soon as you can.”

We can assist you in completing your self-assessment tax return on time.